So many columnists in local and national papers discuss the war using figures, theories and strategies. Many try to reason until they are blue in the face. But there is one thing I notice these columnists do not do – none of them talk about the personal side that is exploited in the media.

The “personal side” includes the stories of all those individuals I have run into who have said, “Oh, I have a loved one in Iraq or Fallujah,” or any other place is in the line of fire.

As of right now, I know of four people in Iraq: three women in the Army and a man in the Marines. The three young women are too young to realize this is something serious, and the man is old enough to know that there is no blueprint for any war.

The three young women think that getting paid $2,000 a month is a lot of money “just to fight in some war,” while the Marine just wants to fight so he is able to get home to his wife.

The three soldiers went into the Army only to receive a college education because their parents were unwilling to pay their way through. The Marine joined to serve his country proudly. That is all he ever wanted to do since he was a child.

Is there a difference? No.

All four of these people, who deserve much respect for fighting in this unjust war, are fighting the same fight. It is not just a battle against Iraqi militias and terrorists. It is a battle of a person’s mind – to think about “what ifs.”

What if I had gone to college? What if I had gotten a 9-to-5 job? What if I had thought about the possibility of war in today’s age? What if I do not make it home? What if I do make it home? What if this bloodshed does not make a difference?

As we sit in comfort complaining about all the finals we have to take, all the papers we have to write and all the money we spent on alcohol this past weekend, we should recognize that, instead, we could be wondering “what if … ?” while fighting El Presidente’s war.

Here in the United States, we can discuss any and every strategy our naive minds can conceive, and they still will not change the situation. Any figures we have are more than likely skewed by our government. Stating who has died and where it happened is not going to change anything because the elections are over, and the figures are only numbers. Numbers cannot take the place of human emotion.

The emotion is not in the stories that are displayed on the news, but in the loved ones who wait for phone calls, or for those in the armed forces who realize they have just been mobilized and will be sent to blindly fight a war.

Hopefully, unlike the Vietnam conflict, the people who have fought for some unknown reason will come home to gratitude and gratefulness.

Grateful that we were able to go on with our lives without a hitch. Grateful that most of us college students, who would be fighting right now if there were a draft, are able to complain about finals, papers and being broke.

So, if you were without something to be thankful for this year – there you have it.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.